Imitation of Russian Song
Tchaikovsky Research
Three musical sketches appear in Tchaikovsky's Notebook for 1884–85 [1], under the heading Imitation Russian song (Подделка под р[усскую] песнь) (TH 222) [2].
The themes — in C major (4 bars), in G major (5 bars) and D major (4 bars) — cannot be identified with any known Russian folksongs, although they shares many characteristics of the genre [3].
The G major and D major themes were used in the Impromptu-Caprice for piano, composed in 1884 [4], and Tchaikovsky's note may have concerned only the first theme in C major.
Notes and References
- ↑ Klin House-Museum Archive (a2, No. 16).
- ↑ As "Imitations of Russian Song" in TH. The C major theme (only) is described with Tchaikovsky's Notebook No. 16 in ČW, p. 957.
- ↑ Published in Boleslav Rabinovich, П. И. Чайковский и народная песня. Избранные отрывки из писем и статей (1963), p. 141.
- ↑ We are most grateful to Mr Simone Mantelli for this observation.
